What is Rock ‘n’ Roll for you?

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Thank you to @devilsfavoriteson for tagging me!

What is Rock 'no Roll to me?

For me this is simple. Rock 'n' Roll is freedom. Though I am not a musician, the ability and freedom to express oneself is, in my opinion, unmatched by any other genre of music except rap (to which I am specifically referring to the birth and golden era of hip-hop, as well as modern day artists like Kendrick Lamar, JCole, etc).

I grew up in an intesnly restrictive household. Because my parents were so excessively controlling, everything I consumed was monitored. The only time I could feel free was when I was listening to music. My parents were okay with classic rock so I dove into the entire album history of Led Zeppelin. I felt free with music I could move too. I grew up a dancer and LOVED it. Physical expression is my preferred medium and Rock allowed me to express.

Music was my cultural gateway to relating to my peers. My childhood had any and all "offensive" media removed. I missed shared cultural moments in TV and movies. Children's cartoons, pg-13 movies, YA books, EVERYTHING had to pass my parents insane standards. I was even on AL'S parental controls intended for 9 year olds until I was 13. I had to beg them to raise the age controls so I could *do my gd homework* without being blocked from pages I needed.

My parents banned any and all mention of sex, equal rights, feminism, LGBTQIA, anyone who wasn't white (my mom is a brown Puerto Rican who straight up denies and hates being brown), or anything that could ever make Christianity look bad, ever. It was suffocationing. I found solace by walking to the library and reading banned books in the graveyard (which shared a parking lot of my tiny library) while listening to music on my Discman.

Days playing what few video games were allowed in my house were narrated with my 3CD boom box. I would put 3 albums from 1 artist to be the soundtrack to my day. Specifically No Doubt whilst I played The Sims ot Neopets.

Rock 'n' roll is freedom for my because its one of the few choices I was allowed to make in my life before violently rebelling and almost cutting contact with my parents entirely. To this day, Rock serves as a soundtrack to everything I do. Driving, gaming, streaming, baking, all of it. Its not uncommon for me to be dancing around the kitchen covered in flour and bopping along to Black Flag or The Distillers.

I would LOVE to know what my fave SG Rockstar, @narublu, has to say about Rock 'n' roll!

Xoxoxoxox

@penny @yessybear @lemon @missy

VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
devilsfavoriteson:
Thank you for posting,  @BRUJAJA !!  I read this entry night before last, and I was taken aback by your candor, your honesty and your vulnerability.  I've seen music be that bridge that opens a door for personal expression that might not have been available to a person otherwise. I'm especially  thinking about listeners.  Do you remember your song or songs from when you felt most empowered as a youth?  I sure as fuck do.  Like @brujaja I have no musical inclination or aspiration, but there are moments, phases or eras in my life that I have a song or a set of songs to register my own emotional, conscious connection to them. I remember a kid that I was close, close friends to back in the day.  Very late 80s/Early 90s.  We were playing d&d at another kids house, but we weren't interested in the "let's all try to fuck everybody else in the party" attitude, so we migrated to the DM's bed and hit play on the VCR under the TV  to be met with a porn compilation tape that the DM let us know was from his brother and not his.  He and I watched the tape together when he admitted to me that he was gay, and I was the first person he had ever told.  I didn't know what to say or do, but I knew I wanted to be there for him.  We had a long conversation about how much music meant to him and how it was an escape from his parents who were trying to pray away his gay.  Music is an avenue out, a way to find oneself and a way to grow in an unexpected direction.  But all the time, it is about understanding, interpretation and appreciation.  I'm  certainly glad music was and is there for you, @BRUJAJA! Much, much love.
brujaja:
@devilsfavoriteson 🖤

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